Paper towel dispenser



June 13, '1933. J. c. PERRIN 1,913,722

PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER Filed Feb. 2, 1932 //vMs/v Toe.- Jay 6. Pelee/N flT roe/wa Patented June 13, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE JAY G. PEBBIN', OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR 'I'O TOWITSAVER, INC A OOBPORA'I'ION OF CALIFORNIA PAEER TOWEL DISPENSER Application filed February 2, 1932. Serial No. 590,414.

My invention relates to a simple device for dispensing paper towels from a continuous roll of crepe towel paper.

At the present time crepe paper towels are extensively used in substantially square form, folded so as to fit within a container having an opening in the bottom thereof through which one edge of the lowest folded paper towel will project so as to be in a position for manual engagement whereby to be pulled from the container. It is found that there is a very great waste of such towels owing to the fact that users thereof will not hestitate to pull out several towels, and it is further found that more than one towel will sometimes issue from the container at one time.

It is an object of my invention to provide a dispenser for paper towel material, having means therein for supporting a roll of crepe towel paper, together with means for ejecting a portion of the strip of paper from which the roll is comprised, so that such pro ecting portion may be torn off and used. Associated with the feeding or delivery means of the device is a simple means for measuring the length of the portion of paper fed from the. container, this measuring means being controlled by a lever which must be manually actuated each time it is desired to obtain a sheet of towel paper from the dispenser. The dispensing device is provided with a handle connected to the feeding or delivery means. This handle may be rotated through a definite arc of rotation, such as through one complete rotation, where-upon it is positively topped by the control means of the device and cannot be again moved until the latch means associated with the control device is retracted manually by moving the projecting control lever.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple form of control means having parts automatically moved into position for stopping the movement of the feeding mechanism of the towel dispensing device, it being an especial object of the invention to provide a construction adapted to be very cheaply manufactured, though rugged and serviceable. 1

Further objects and advantages of the invention will-be made evident throughout the following part of the specification.

Referring to the drawing, which is for illustrative puropses only,

Fig. l is a perspective elevational view showing a preferred form of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the device with the cover thereof in raised position.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on a plane represented bythe line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on a plane represented by the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section on a plane represented by the line 55 of Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 1, the invention employs a container 11 adapted to be secured to a wall and having a handle 12 at one end thereof which may be rotated to cause a portion 13 of towel paper to issue from the container 11 in a position where it may be readily gripped and torn off. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the container 11 includes a base or body portion 14 and a cover member 15. The base 14: has a back 16, a horizontally extending bottom wall 17, and side walls 18 and 19 which extend vertically from the ends of the bottom wall 17 and forwardly from the ends of the back 16. The cover member 15 includes a front wall 21 of sheet metal which is bent rearwardly at its upper end so as to provide a top for the container 11, and side walls 22 and 23 which are adapted to cover the side walls 18 and 19 when the cover member 15 is in closed position as shown in Fig. 1.

Means are provided for holding a roll of paper 24 Within the container 11, such means preferably consisting of a bar 25 having flattened ends 26 adapted to slide downwardly in vertical notches 27 in the side walls 18 and 19. To hold the roll 24; centralized within the container, spacer rings 28 may be employed on the ends of the bar 25, as shown in Fig. 2.- In the bottom 17 an opening 30 is formed through which the end 31 of the strip of paper 32 comprising the roll 24 may be fed by feeding or delivery means 33 consisting of a main roller 34 and an idling roller '35. One of the rollers 34 or 35- has an outer resilient layer, such as a coating of rubber, which is indicated at 36 in Fig. 3. The roll- REISSUED ers 34 and 35 have projecting shaft members or trunnions 37 and 38 which extend through openings in the lower parts of the side walls 18 and 19, and tension springs 40 are placed on the ends of the shafts or trunnions 37 and 38 for pulling the rollers 34 and 35 resiliently together.

Connected with the roller 34 is a ear 41 which is preferably secured to the rig tward end of the roller 34, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, this gear 41 bein engaged by a larger gear 42 mounted on a s aft 43 which projects inwardly from the side wall 19 and is connected with an annular member 44 lying adjacent the outer face of the side wall 19. The shaft 43 is continued outwardly, as shown'at 45 in Fig. 2, and the end thereof is bent to form a crank or operating handle 46 whereby the gear 42 may be rotated and thereby transmit rotation to the gear 41 and produce rotation of the roller 34. Forward rotation of the gear 42 is indicated by the arrow 47 of Fig. 5, and for preventing reverse rotation a catch 48 is mounted on a pivot 50 which extends inwardly from the side wall 19, such catch having a tooth 51 adapted to engage the teeth of the gear 42.

It is preferable that the gears 41 and 42 be so proportioned relative to the diameter of the roller 34 that a single rotation of the handle 46 will produce delivery of a sufficient length of the paper strip 32 to form a towel with a moisture-absorbing capacity sufficient for drying the hands. A feature of my invention is to provide in conjunction with the feeding mechanism 33 a means 53 which will measure the length of the strip 32 issued from the machine by stopping the shaft 43, and consequently the .parts of the feeding mechanism 33 associated therewithg at the end of a single revolution, thereby pre venting a user from continuously feeding the strip 32 from the container 11. The control means 53, as shown in- Figs. 2 and 4, includes a rotary stop member'54 which is connected to the shaft 43 through the annular member 44 on which the rotary stop member 54 is formed, and a non-rotary stop member 55 which is formed at the bifurcated inner end 56 of a lever 57 mounted on a pivot member 58 in such position that the forward end 60 thereof will project through a vertically elongated opening 61 in the front 21 of the cover member 15, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the forward end 60 of the lever 57 may be manually lifted when it is desired to operate the feeding mechanism 33 of the dispensing device. When the lever 57 is in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4, the downwardly projecting non-rotary stop member 55 projects into the circular path of movement of the stop lug or rotary stop member 54 and is accordingl engaged by the rotary stop member 54, as sl iown in Fig. 4, preventing further rotation of the shaft 43 and its connected parts in the direction of the arrow 62. Should it now be desired to obtain a paper towel from the dispensing device, the forward end 60 of the lever 57 is raised to the position indicated by dotted lines 63, with the result that the stop member 55 is moved out of the path of movement of the rotary stop member 54, permitting the rotary stop member 54 to move upwardly. Extending upwardly and rightwardly at the inner end of the lever 57 is an arm 64 having an inner face or edge 65 which swings into the position indicated by dotted lines 66 when the lever 57 is raised, thus bringing the inner edge 65 into the path of movement of the rotary stop member 54 when the stop member 55 is moved leftwardly from engagement with the stop member 54. Consequently, as the rotary stop member 54 moves upwardly from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4 after release of the non-rotary stop member 55, it will engage the inner edge 65 lying in the position indicated by the dotted lines 66 and will force the arm 64 upwardly into its normal position indicated in full lines in Fig. 4, likewise returning the nonrotary stop member 55 to a position lying in the path of movement of the rotary stop member 54, with the result that the member 54 will be engaged and stopped by the member 55 at the end of a single rotation of the crank 46.

To facilitate tearing off the projecting end of the strip of paper, I provide a downwardly projecting edge 67, simply formed by bending downwardly the portion of metal 68 removed from the bottom 17 to form the opening 30. The severing of the paper strip is accomplished by drawing it against the lower edge 67 of the member 68 and exerting a diagonal pull.

The controlling means 53 must be manu ally actuated to remove the stop member 55 from the path of movement of the stop member 54 each time a sheet of towel paper is desired. I find that it is desirable to issue from the towel dispenser a sheet which is somewhat longer than it is wide, which can be readily accomplished by properly proportioning the roller 34. I have found that under ordinary circumstances the user of paper towels will not go to the additional trouble of lifting the lever 57 after a single towel has issued from the machine, and that as a result of this characteristic of human beings to avoid efi'ort wherever possible, the number of towels used in a lavatory may be considerably reduced by the installation of a device of the character shown in this application. The obtaining of towels from the ordinary type of cabinet requires but little labor; therefore, the user will often pull out more towels than he requires, but where a device of the character of my invention is employed, the used will not go to the extra form, it is recognized that certain parts or elements thereof are representative of other parts, elements, or mechanism which maybe employed in substantially the same manner to accomplish substantially the same results; therefore, it is to be understood that the-invention is not to be'liinitcd to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the followin claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dispenser of the character described,

including: a supporting structure adapted to hold a strip; roller means for feeding said strip from said support; means for manually rotating said roller meansto feed said strip; means for severing the part of said strip issued by said roller means; and manually releasable control means for stopping said roller means after a predetermined rotation thereof, said releasable control means comprising a rotary stop member connected to said rotating means, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted on said supporting structure, a non-rotatable stop member adapted to be moved by said lever between positions of engagement and non-engagement-relative to said rotary stop member, and an extension on said lever for automatically moving'said non rotatable stop member into said position of engagement relative to said rotary stop member.

. 2. A dispenser of.v the character described, including: a supporting structure; a roll holder for holding in said supporting structure a strip in roll form; roller means for feeding said strip from said su port; means forvmanua'lly rotating said r0 ler means to feed said strip; means for severing the part of said strip issued by said roller means; and manually releasable control means for stopping said roller means after a predetermined rotation thereof, said releasable control means comprising a rotary stop member connected to said rotating means, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted on said sup porting structure, a non-rotatable stop member adapted to be moved by said lever between positions of engagement and non-engagement relative to said rotary stop member,- and an extension on said lever forautomatically moving said non-rotatable stop member into said position of engagementrelative to said rotary stop member.

3. A dispenser of the character described, including: a container comprising a base member and a cover member, said base member having a back adapted to be secured to a wall, a bottom having a longitudinal opening through which a strip of paper may issue, there being a longitudinal edge presented for use in tearing off the projecting portion of said strip, and side walls projecting upwardly from thejends of said bottom; an annular member having an, outwardly projecting handle and having a shaft projecting inwardly through an opening in one of said side walls;

a roller connected to the inner end of said shaft whereby to bevrotated by said shaft; an idler roller disposed in rolling engagement with said first named roller; means for supporting a roll of paper in said container in such position that the end thereof may be fed between said rollers; a stop lug pro ecting from said annular member; and a lever pivotally mounted on-the outer face of said last named side wall, the front end of said lever projecting into a position tobe manually moved, and the inner end of said lever having a stop member adapted to swing in and out of the path of movement of said stop la and an arm adapted to project into the pat of movement of said stop lug when said stop member is out of said path of movement and being engageable by said stop lug whereby to swing said lever so as to move said stop memper into said path of movement of said stop 4. A dispenser of the character described, including: a container comprising a base member and a cover member, said base member having a back adapted to be secured to a wall, a bottom having a longitudinal opening through which a strip of paper may issue, there being a longitudinal edge presented for use in tearing off the projecting portion of said strip, and side walls projecting upwardly from the ends of said bottom; an annular member having an outwardly projecting handle and having a shaft projecting inwardly through an opening in one of said side walls; a roller connected to the inner end of said shaft whereby to be rotated by said shaft; an idler roller disposedvin rolling engagement with said first named roller; means for supporting a roll of paper in said container in such position that the end thereof may be fed between said rollers; a stop lug projecting from said annular member; and a lever pivotally mounted on the outer face of said last named side wall, the front end of said lever projecting into a position to be manually moved, and the inner end of said lever having a stop member adapted to swing in and out of the path of movement of said stop lug, and an arm adaptedto project into the path of movement of said stop lug when said stop member is out of said path of movement and being engageable by said stop lug where- 'by to swing said lever so as to move said stop member into said path of movement of said .stop lug, said cover member having a side 5. A dispenser of the character described including: a container comprising a base member and a cover member, said base member having a ba'ck adapted to be secured to a wall, a bottom having a longitudinal opening throu h which a strip of paper may issue,

there eing a lon itudinal edge presented for use in tearin 0 the projecting portion of said strip, an side walls re ecting upwardly from the ends of said ottom; an annular 1 member having an outwardly projecting handle and having a shaft projecting inwardly through an opening in one of said side walls; a roller connected to the inner end of said shaft whereby to be rotated by said shaft; an idler roller disposed in rolling engagement withlsaid first named roller; means for supporting a roll of paper in said container in such position that the end thereof may be fed between said rollers a stop lug projecting from said annular member; and a lever member pivoted on the outer face of said last named side wall, said lever member having its forward end projecting into position for manual engagement and having its inner end bifurcated so as to surround a portion of said annular member and to provide a stop member adapted to move in and out of the path of movement of said stop lug, and an arm adapted to project into the path of movement of said step lug and to be moved by said stop lug whereby to swing said lever member in a manner to produce movement-of said stop member into the path of movement of said stop lug. Q j v 6. A dispenser of the v characterdescribed, including: a base member having a back, a bottom, and sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom, there being a longitudinal opening in said bottom through which a strip of paper may pass; means for supporting a roll of paper between said side walls; roller means extending between said side walls for feeding said strip of paper through said longitudinal opening; a handle projecting through one of said side walls;

means connecting the inner end of said handle with said roller means; manually releasable control .means on the outer face of one of said side walls for stopping said roller means after a predetermined rotation thereof; and a cover member having side walls adapted to extend down over the side walls of said base member, one of said side walls of said cover member concealing said releasable control means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at LosAngeles, California, this 27 the day of January, 1932. a

' JAY C. PERRIN; 

